Ahem. Perhaps when you let a rape-obsessed, Nazi-tatted Kik creeper into the process in the first place, you should expect some goose-stepping to follow.
It has now been nearly two full days since Politico published an allegation of rape against Graham Platner, and all remains quiet on the Totenkopf Front. Most of Platner's political support and endorsements have evaporated, but not all of it. Der Oysterführer himself denied Jenny Racicot's accusation (and a later one of sexual assault by deception from Lyndsey Fifield) and has paused his campaign to consider his options.
On Monday, Democrats expected Platner to withdraw from the Maine Senate race within hours. Now, as the deadline approaches for withdrawal, Platner has decided to exercise at least one option. Platner and his team are using their leverage to force the Maine Democratic Party to allow him to hand-pick his successor, as the New York Post reported yesterday based on anonymous sourcing.
The Maine Democratic Party confirmed it last night in a video statement from its executive director. In a declaration drenched in irony, Devon Murphy-Anderson pledged "integrity" in the process to dump the violent Nazi-tatted Kik creeper its voters elected. She then huffed about how Platner was forcing himself on the party's processes, apparently clueless to the parallels that created the crisis:
Update from Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson on the Maine Senate race. pic.twitter.com/Jzj9ofinU8
— Maine Democrats (@MaineDems) July 8, 2026
She added: "The integrity of this process is just as important as the outcome, and we are committed to ensuring that Democrats across our state can have confidence in both."
As Murphy-Anderson went on, she accused Platner's team of "repeatedly" reaching out to them "in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale" to influence what the process looks like.
"We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner's team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like," she noted. "We have also reiterated that Graham Platner must drop out of this race so that Democrats in Maine can focus on defeating Susan Collins this November."
Platner, forcing himself on unwilling partners? Gee, what a shock!
Unfortunately for Maine Democrats, Platner has all the leverage in this situation, as I explained yesterday and David will discuss next. Maine does not allow a political party to remove a nominee once he or she has won the primary. The only way that Murphy-Anderson and her organization can have a "process," let alone one with "integrity," is for Platner to voluntarily withdraw before the July 13 deadline. Maine Democrats had months to get Platner out of the primary after the news of his Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo went public in October, along with his posts on Reddit and other platforms suggesting that women bore responsibility for being raped.
Where was Murphy-Anderson then? Where was she when Lyndsey Fifield went public with her warnings, and when Platner's former campaign manager went public with hers? The need for "integrity" passed weeks and months ago in the "candidate selection process." That process resulted in an alleged rapist bearing a Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo being nominated by her party to the US Senate. And now the ED for Maine Democrats complains about Platner forcing himself on their process when the party didn't give two Fs about Platner's violence against women when those complaints first emerged.
The problem remains: Maine Democrats gave Platner the nomination, and now he controls it. The party no longer has a "candidate selection process," and won't unless Platner gives it up. That leaves them three options: allow Platner to participate in the process, buy him off, or resign themselves to having Platner on the ballot. Platner has nothing to lose at this point, since he's mooching off Mom & Dad anyway and has no career to protect on the back side of this campaign. If they want him out, Maine Democrats and/or their dark-money donors will need to make it worth his while, and don't expect Platner to sell out cheaply, either. He knows that he has Murphy-Anderson and the party over a barrel.
At this point, I suspect that Platner won't leave at all. As David will also argue, he doesn't have to withdraw, and since he has literally no prospects elsewhere, why not ride this out and see where it goes? Platner may take perverse pleasure in seeing the same supporters who fled over the last 48 hours weaseling their way back behind him as the naked pursuit of power becomes even more naked in the desperation over control of the Senate. If Platner wanted to withdraw, he would have done so by now.
Update: Jim Geraghty and Philip Klein are increasingly skeptical about a Platner withdrawal, too:
I think our Phil Klein is correct; there is a not-so-small chance that in the coming days, Graham Platner will refuse to withdraw from the U.S. Senate race in Maine and force his state’s Democrats to choose between voting for him or acquiescing to another term for GOP incumbent Susan Collins. ...
Sure, in a general election matchup, Collins will crack Platner like a freshly boiled lobster claw, but afterwards he’ll be able to go on certain podcasts and claim that “the Establishment,” and oligarchs and AIPAC conspired to defeat him by getting everyone he’s ever known to make false accusations against him. And if all else fails, he can always flee to Argentina.
He could start that career arc now if someone coughs up a gilded-enough golden parachute. Anyone hear from Alex Soros lately?
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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